The Promised Pictures

Well, here they are. As you are looking at them, please bear in mind that these are "BEFORE" pictures! As in, there is a lot of cleaning that needs to be done. We went out to the land a couple of days ago and took lots of pictures. The ones below are just some pictures of the restaurant and the front part of the property.






"The Jesse James Hideout" was evidently a very popular restaurant in the 90s. We have had several people mention to us that they remember eating there when it was open.




This is a view of where the bar was added on. =/ We will NOT be reopening the restaurant. Or the bar!

A nice view of the lake (and our driveway!) taken in front of the restaurant. The lake is 100+ acres and belongs to MO conservation. Meaning = we get a nice view of the lake, but we don't have to take care of it. What a plus!

The backside of our property. It is all fenced, and has a good hay field. The light poles and bleachers were for a rodeo arena and mud run. I personally think that the "No Alcohol" sign adds character, but I doubt that we will keep it up.

This is the modular office that was used for the car lot. It has a wrap around (plastic!) porch and gazebo. The other building is an old garage from the original farmhouse. It is sagging and needs to be torn down. The garage is about where Mom and Dad want to build the new house.

This was the concession stand and bathrooms for the rodeo and mud run. We haven't decided what to do with it yet....

We found this ladder in the barn and it appears to be in good condition. Daddy was a happy man.


Some restaurant menus and "old " newspapers were to be found among the debris. I have old in quotations because it wasn't really old. The restaurant had a very rustic theme and must have printed up these "old" looking newspapers.
As far as we have been able to tell, there really was no connection between the real Jesse James and this restaurant. Odd.



More of the rustic theme hanging on the wall.

Oh. Dear. This is the kitchen. (If you couldn't tell. ) I see scrap metal in these stove's future.

And you thought that your kitchen needed cleaning..??!

This would be the restaurants office. Organized and everything.

No, my dad is not bar-tending. Yes, this used to be a real bar. HORROR!!! (Although, I do think that the bottle of marchino cherries is amusing. =] Especially since it wasn't opened.

Behind the bar. This is the part of the cleaning that will require shovels, crowbars, and wheel barrows.

It was a good thing that we took this picture before we heard the unmistakable noise of pitter patter as made by rodents and other smaller vermin in the ceiling above us. Because let me tell you, I was not to be found after that.

So, that's all for now. I am going to be posting some more pictures of the land and other buildings soon. (hopefully!)

~Jenny

Exciting News!

Ok then. Here it is. We bought a farm last week. Well, at least it used to be a farm. The buildings have sadly been a victim of neglect and pilfering for the past decade. Walter, being a man who can see "POTENTIAL" (By the way, this is a wonderful quality to possess, something which I (Pam) did not receive as abundantly!) saw past its neglect and has great visions for our new property. Since September when we learned about the land, we have been praying for God's guidance about this and we feel so blessed with His answer.

Ok, the particulars: It is 58 acres between St. James and Rolla on Little Prairie Lake. The old farmhouse on it burned down about 10 years ago, but it still has several outbuildings. Most notably, the large barn on it had the front half converted to a restaurant in the '90's, The Jesse James Hideout, and from what I understand it was a great place to eat catfish for quite a while. I suspect some of you reading this have probably even eaten there. The farm also in its recent history has had a horse barn, campground, rodeo arena, golf driving range, mud pit, bar, stage, dance floor, and a used car lot. The restaurant was closed about 10 years ago, and not much has been done since then, other than the previously mentioned pilfering. It has had a rough past, but we are hoping that with some TLC (in the form of gutting out the restaurant, tearing down the garage, and general cleaning up) it will have a beautiful future. It also has a modular 2 room office building, gazebo, pavilion and very nice hay field.

You may have noticed I said there was no house. This is only a minor inconvenience to a visionary. Basically, this just translates into WORK! We only need to sell our house before we can begin to build a new house there. And, naturally, our house is not exactly "move-in" ready. Our current project is to finish trimming the basement windows. This was not finished when we moved in 8 years ago, and now seems like the perfect time to finish it. Also, the basement needs "real" flooring, as opposed to the used carpet we laid down there several years ago. Otherwise, lots of painting, sorting through stuff, cleaning up, etc. So, if you know of anyone looking for a house like ours, just let us know.

Jenny will be posting some "BEFORE" pictures soon! I say before because we are hoping it won't stay in its current condition for long. Please don't be too shocked at the pictures - a shovel, crowbar, wheel barrow and dumpster should take care of a lot of the mess :-).
Posted by Pam

Confessions of a Teenage Driver

It all started like this.... I wanted to drive.

Driving was something that sounded "thrilling" and "responsible" if you will. :) I waited to get my permit for 15 years. My parents wouldn't let me get it any sooner for various reasons, namely because it was against the law, but I still wanted it.

But now that I have it, I see that driving isn't everything that it's cracked up to be. You have to pay attention to so many things! Mirrors, speed, other cars, signs, gas and brake, and good radio stations!
I haven't driven a lot, and I am sure that it will become easier and more natural as I do it more, but since I am not there yet, I would be just as content to ride shotgun.

Although, I do look forward to being able to drive myself to all of my activities. Mom says that she is looking forward to having me run the boys to their things and to pick up groceries. I guess that will be nice. But for now... :)

Oh, and I have driven over 60 mph which was kind of "thrilling".

Yours Truly,
Jenny

Winter Snow Storm Arrives!

We were excited by last week's snow - about 4" of beautiful white snow. And the best part was nice cold temperatures to keep the snow from melting! Well, actually the cold temps weren't really all that nice - TOO COLD! Between keeping up with the firewood and feeding the animals we still found a little play time... Front of our house.

Ryan on his snow board. (Confession - my camera takes really bad action pictures, so I had him pose. He is really not quite this good.)

Cordell on his snowboard. It was sooo cold that everyone was really bundled up - hence, you can't really see him. (Apologies here - I can't seem to figure out how to rotate the picture....)

After our pond was frozen solid we had this bad idea that perhaps we could use the snowblower to blow the snow off of the surface of the pond. Walter was willing to try, but it didn't work very well. What we really needed was a Zamboni machine!

This became the goal of each day - keeping a hole broken in the ice for the cows to drink from. The sledge hammer method seemed to work the best.

And this is Jasmine, who didn't seem to mind drinking out of the frozen pond.

A Missouri Flamingo. Chickens apparently don't like stepping in snow, so often stand on only one foot. We currently have 9 Plymoth Barred Rocks, and look forward to them beginning to lay eggs this spring.

Callie, of course, had fun playing in the snow. Callie is Jennifer's 3 year old Golden Retriever.

Jennifer gets a kiss from Senora, our nearly 2 year old Anatolian Shepherd mix.

Ryan worked very hard sweeping off this spot on the pond so he could slide on it.

Cordell and his cousin, David, take a break from their sweeping efforts on the pond.

Don't we have a wonderful God who gives us such a beautiful and fun thing to enjoy as snow!
Hope you enjoyed these pictures. Posted by Pam

Sandwich Hug Anyone?

It occured to me (Pam) that not everyone may be aware of what a "sandwich hug" is, so this is my attempt to explain it. It all started many years ago (about 14!) when Walter & I would give each other a hug, but a child would run in between us to get "sandwiched" in. The goal of the hug seems to be to squish the kids, somewhat similar to squishing the condiments out of a sandwich. Over the years this has grown to include 3 children, and sometimes a dog! I know someday my kids won't yell "Sandwich Hug!" anymore, but I sure do treasure them when we do.

Close Call for Cardinal!

Yesterday, we had a bird fly into one of our windows. This male Cardinal was fine after a while, but we managed to snap a few pictures of him while he was still kind of dazed. Because really now, have you ever held a wild Cardinal?

NOTE: No bird(s) were harmed (permanently at least ) before, during, or after the taking of these pictures. =)


And yes, my camera doesn't take the best pictures. =)

And I Begin...

Hello all!

I have decided to start a blog for my family! I have never tried blogging before, so please bear with me as I am learning how it all works. I hope that I can keep it updated, and I hope to post lots of pictures!